Cummins backs flexible batting order despite Renshaw's 272-run Durban heroics

Australia's captain refuses to lock in the top order despite Renshaw's match-winning 272 in Durban

Pat Cummins has backed Australia to retain the flexibility to reshuffle their batting order, even as Matthew Renshaw made a compelling case to become a permanent No. 5 with a match aggregate of 272 runs in the first Test against South Africa in Durban.

Renshaw's 190 in the first innings and 82 in the second helped Australia turn a precarious position of 124 for 6 on the opening day into a commanding victory. His promotion to the middle order was necessitated by an abdominal injury to Cameron Green, whose availability for the second Test in Gqeberha remains uncertain.

The decision to recall Nic Maddinson and then shunt him up as an opener — nearly a decade after his previous Test appearance — was a big call, influenced by Renshaw's recent success in the middle order in one-day cricket.

Cummins acknowledged that Renshaw's returns would make it difficult to justify moving him, while stressing that the team now has several ways to configure its top order.

“Give us a few days, we'll look at the conditions of the next Test. I mean, it's got to be pretty compelling to move Renshaw from there,” Cummins said. “But we've seen Travis Head down at No. 5 as well. We're always working out the six batters, or seven plus [Alex Carey] and how is that going to function as a whole? So, if anything, I still think he [Renshaw] can be a great opener, and now he's got another string to his bow that he's found this week.”

Australia have greater certainty around some positions, with Marnus Labuschagne at No. 3, Steve Smith at No. 4 and the lower middle order appearing settled. The return of Maddinson, however, has given them more scope to change the arrangement at the top without necessarily disturbing the rest of the line-up.

“We're pretty certain that we like Marn [Labuschagne] at No. 3, Smithy at No. 4, and then, the six and seven felt pretty locked up. I think bringing in Maddo, we really like the idea of bringing that flexibility, that unlocks a lot [such as] Trav back to No. 5, Renners down to No. 5, even Maddo himself at five. We haven't had that option [in] the last few years where we feel like we've got plenty of options at the top,” Cummins added. “We're very big on that flexibility. I know you're probably sick of us talking about it but, why not next week, have different openers if the conditions take us somewhere different, or swapping out the batting orders between innings. I think having the structure that we do now with a few guys that can open, that's really unlocked that.”

The options available to Australia are a consequence of a selection call that paid off handsomely in Durban, where earlier reporting from 13 October noted that Renshaw even chipped in with part-time left-arm spin to remove Temba Bavuma, with Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood also featuring in a dominant Australian performance built around Cummins' bowling changes.

Cummins felt the performance offered a useful reminder of the value of staying patient and capitalising when the game begins to turn. The match developed into a five-day grind rather than the faster-paced Tests Australia have experienced over the previous 12 months.

“This week has felt a bit more, I don't know, like the old Test cricket, I reckon. It's a bit more of a grind,” Cummins said. “[It's] probably just appreciating that we weren't as good at those little moments as we could have been [in some Tests]. I think you need to sometimes just grind it out, wait for the game to come to you and we just missed those moments in the past. So us as a group as we look at the next evolution, that's something we spoke about.”

The result was especially satisfying for Cummins given the position Australia had been in at the start, and came on the back of a drawn home series against Bangladesh with a string of Test matches to come.

“Overseas, it's always tough. You never quite know what you're going to get [in the] first Test, the position we were on day one, six down, [it] felt well behind where we wanted to be. Then, mainly through Renshaw, clawing our way back ... and then once we had the lead not giving it back,” Cummins said. “Sometimes when we have got that far in front, I feel like we haven't been as ruthless as we could, but I think our standards were very high for the last three or four days. It's very satisfying.”